Daphne's Romance
by The Irish Lass
Summary: Takes place after the events in The College Experience. After the Scarlet Hand is defeated, Daphne goes back to school, where she has to pretend that a major fairytale war never happened. Unfortunately, someone followed her, making that task more difficult than ever.


Chapter One

"Daphne!"

"Hello, Girlfriend!"

Daphne grinned, and ran to catch up with her last year's two best friends, Jessica and Melissa, twins with bright orange hair and pale faces.

"How was California?" Jessica asked, linking arms with the brunette. She popped her gum, and Daphne could smell the familiar scent of Juicy Fruit.

"It was pretty cool. My aunt didn't want me to leave. She sent a whole bunch of photographs with me." Daphne hadn't gone to California to live with her aunt last year. Instead, she had fought in what was hoped to be the last Scarlet Hand uprising. But it wasn't really the best idea to spring your best friends with the idea that fairy tales were real, and they fought a lot, and your older sister, the valedictorian of two years ago had been the one to kill the Master of the rebellion.

"I can't wait to see them." Melissa said warmly, her voice calmer and more measured than her sister's. She strode along beside them.

"Forget that." Jessica shook her head. "It's sophomore year!" She skipped. When Daphne failed to react appropriately, she blinked at her.

"Remember? We can date in sophomore year?" She cocked her head.

"Yeah, about that-" Daphne began

And then the school bell rang.

"C'mon! Don't want to be late for Homeroom!" Jessica yanked Daphne by the elbow towards the building, leaping over the steps while Daphne stumbled. Melissa, ever the calm voice of reason in the threesome, shook her head with amusement as she followed them at a more sedate pace.

~Sisters Grimm~

"So," Jessica tore open her granola bar at lunch, and took a sip of her lemonade. "Who are your eyes on?"

Daphne blinked at her, mouth already full of her ham sandwich. "What?"

"I told you this morning, we can date this year. Do you like anyone yet?"

Melissa slid her tray onto the table, and plopped her back pack next to it, digging out her math homework. "It's only the first day." She mourned.

"Exactly. How can I be sure of who I like? Anyway, I don't-"

"She was talking about her homework." Jessica broke in. "What were you saying?"

Daphne sighed, her courage leaving her as fast as it could retreat. "Nothing."

Melissa leaned over and patted her. She smiled, and Daphne thought she knew what her friend had wanted to say. "Daphne doesn't want to date this year." The redhead said quietly, unpacking her own lunch, smiling slightly at her peanut butter and jelly.

"Melissa!"

"What? You weren't going to say it."

Jessica blinked for a second, then shrugged. Daphne breathed in relief. "Oh. It would have been fun to double date, but I guess not. There's always next year. And I have a longer time to pick. But right now, he's looking good." In her typical fashion, Jessica had gotten over one mindset and settled on another within seconds.

Daphne twisted to see where her friend was pointing, and choked.

"He's cute!" Jessica protested. "And healthy." She approved of his lunch tray with the apple, water and sandwich.

"Jessica, that's… Richard." Daphne couldn't tell her his real name, of course. It was a dead give-away.

The boy spotted her, and hesitated. She waved to him, beckoning him closer.

"Oh. Your childhood friend. Off limits then. How about-"

"Off limits?" Daphne wheezed as the boy drew closer.

Melissa, scribbling answers into her notebook, met her eye and shrugged.

"Duh."

"Hi, Daphne." Pinocchio set down his tray and slid into the seat across from her.

"Hey, _Richard." _Daphne emphasized his name, widening her eyes and hoping the former puppet would take the hint. He apparently did, because he nodded imperceptibly, bending his head over his lunch. Daphne smiled widely. He wasn't an obnoxious brat anymore at least.

"This is Melissa and Jessica." She introduced her friends. "They're twins."

"I'd have never guessed." His tone was wry, and his foot tapped her denim covered shin, willing her to get it. She locked eyes with him briefly.

"Daphne has mentioned you." Jessica said, sipping her drink. "A lot."

Daphne flushed, reviewing her mind to see if this was true. It couldn't be. Could it?

"I'm flattered." Pinocchio smiled. Daphne grinned as both twins opened up. He certainly had learned how to charm people in the last year. She wouldn't be surprised if he was elected class president. Speaking of which…

"Why are you here?" She asked him. "I thought you were still in New York, at Houghton Academy."

"I left." He shrugged. "I knew all the classes, and they would have let me graduate and go to Dartmouth, but I wanted to do some regular school first."

"Wait, what grade are you in?" Melissa squeaked. She had always been intelligent, but to find someone who could graduate, and chose to come here instead… It didn't happen every day.

"Tenth." He said off-handedly. He glanced at his watch. "Shoot. I'm going to be late for English. Not that I won't pass anyway, but it's nice to have extra-credit. Nice seeing you, Daphne. See you soon, ladies." He nodded, standing and walking away from the table, red backpack slung over one shoulder, polo shirt neatly tucked in.

"And what a cutie he was!" Jessica sighed. "You, Daffy, are one lucky girl."

"Huh?" Daphne spluttered. Jessica giggled, and Melissa laughed.

"You know what I mean." Jessica stole one of Daphne's pretzels. "And if you don't, you'll get it soon enough.

~Sisters Grimm~

Hello, people! I'm back, and as good as ever! Or at least, I hope so.

Okay. If you read The College Experience, you know what is going on here. If you haven't, I recommend you do, or else you will not get a lot of references. Anyway, this takes place almost immediately after The College Experience. It's a romance, no resurrected Scarlet Hand or anything. But it is a sequel (I promised one, didn't I?), and it won't be very long. Probably about ten chapters, maybe less. I've got another fanfiction lined up though, so let's try to get this done, alright?

As always, reviews are my fanfiction life. Review and feed my creative side! No, seriously, the reviews help my writing process. Don't know why, but it helps me keep a clear mind.

'Til next time!

-The Irish Lass


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